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Spidertale Sloshed - October 1015
(As told by Calicana Fireborn...) “Ayy! Scottie, pass me another one of those Sparkelin’ Spirits in one of your best tankards, yah fool!” A young lad flirting with the bartender can hardly be heard amongst the clatter. A mug sloshes down the bar and lands miraculously in the lad’s hand. “Thanks, Scottie! You the best friend anybody could have!” He drunkenly spews. His words were slurred and bubbling, much like the ale he was chugging. The air was dank with sweat tobacco. I could somewhat see the gamblers behind their puffing pipes. The more they gambled the more they smoked. The drunkards were in their own corner, hollerin at the women who scurried past them just to relieve themselves. The bard, captivated in his own performance, elated when the crowd cheered him on. All were in their place. Except for one. A rough, curly haired girl sat down the bar from me. Her dark clothing showed little dirt. She was alone, and looked it, taking hits off a wooden pipe. A purple haze cascaded from her lips as she exhaled. She looked as though she had worked all her life and found solace in her own solitude. The bartender slid over to my portion of the bar. He was a wrinkling elf with much spring in his step for his age. “Could I get somethin’ for yah, lassy? Perhaps yer old favorite? Our Spidertale Brew is top of the notch today.” “I’m afraid a simple brew won’t suffice, Scottie. It’s been one of THOSE days.” I remembered the letter I had received from Ami earlier that day. Cali, Oden. 23. [[Amarka|Ami]. It wasn’t much, but Ami never led on more than she needed too. I was just thankful to hear from her again, even if I knew I couldn’t fulfill her request, even if she needed me. “One shot of Lady’s Hair comin’ right up.” He grabbed a bottle of a pink, shimmering liquid and poured it into a small flute. “Ehh, make it two.” I downed the first, slamming a couple of Sovereigns down onto the bar. “So what is it this time? A boy? A debt? A boy with a debt?” “No. Tonight, it’s a girl.” “Ha. Didn’t think you’d be that kind of girl. I’m not surprised though, with what’cha got outfitted. Even comin’ round these parts I ‘spose.” He poured a second shot. I downed it, and he continued onto the next customer. “Call me over if you need anything.” “Will do.” I felt a hand on my back, which I quickly jolted off. “Ayy, missy. You have a minute?” A slimy dwarven man in a cloak much too large for him spoke to me. “No.” I turned from him. What an oaf. “Ayy, ayy. No need to get stale with me, young missy. I simply have a wonderful opportunity for you this fine evening.” He put his hand on my waist this time. I swung around my bar stool and stood tall over him. “I told you, you knee-high blemish. I don’t have time for your horse shit.” I looked down upon the tiny man. His nose was particularly pimply. “If you would only listen for a moment I can…” “Listen? If you would only listen.” In drunk annoyance I kneeled and took a knife to his beard. “Woah, woah, woah. I get your message, I’ll leave, I’ll…” His hands were up in surrender. “Tuggs.” A quick roar. “Fuck off.” It was the curly haired girl from the bar. She stood, leaning on the bar with one arm, drink in hand. Tuggs, the dwarf, scampered off. “Thanks, I suppose. He wouldn’t leave me alone. Let me buy you a drink.” I turned to flag down Scottie, but the girl stopped me. “I don’t accept drinks from people who browbeat old dwarves.” Her tone was sharp, annoyed. “You know it was a scam, right? The knee-highs always pull the same trick on tipsy fools in bars. Get them all riled up with adventure is what they do.” I laughed. “Trying to get by is what they do. Trying to make a living is what they do. It’s what we all do. You think I don’t know it’s a scam? Doesn’t give you permission to cut off his beard. It’s the only thing those old dwarves got.” She took a sip of her drink, staring straight at me still. “Look, let me just buy you a drink and we can put the whole thing behind us. Scottie!” He appeared from under the bar. “Yes, lassy? Watcha need?” “What were you saying about that Spidertale Brew? Top of the notch?” I slipped him a few coins. “The highest notch. We had to carve a new notch.” He grabbed a few mugs from under the bar and filled them to the brim with a slimy, dark green liquid and slammed them down on the table. “Got a nice extra kick for you right at the end. Spider eggs. Let those little babies swim around in yer belly all night.” He laughed and was off again. “These fancy Elven brews really don’t disappoint. Say, what did you go by again….?” I turned and she was gone. Huh. I drunkenly sloshed my way to the bard, double-fisting the Spidertale Brews. He sang a song about adventure, about surveying the land, finding new places. Exploring was a common dream among city-folk and country-folk alike. It’s hard to leave once you’ve settled down. As I neared finishing my first brew, my eyes focused upon Chuggs the Dwarf, or was it Tuggs, for only a moment. He was preaching to a group of adolescent elvish boys about the treasure that was to be on the outskirts of the forests. I’d heard the same plot a million times. Too bad for the boys the dwarf was only interested in the treasure in their pockets. But they were young, naive, and it clearly was one of their only times in a pub like this one. I stumbled over to try and help the poor lads. “You boys look a little young to be in a dirty place like this.” I smirked at them. For a couple of young ones, they were kind of cute. They weren’t too young afterall. “Ayy, I was talkin’ to them about treasure.” Tuggs butted in. “Are you okay?” One of the boys asked. Halfway through my second brew, the poison was really catching up to me. I leaned on one of their chairs for support. “Ahh, yeah. Just having a night, yah know?” I burped. They looked completely appalled. “Look, you lot shouldn’t hang around these parts. There are those who try and take advantage of fresh meat like you.” I gave Tuggs a look. “Yeh, and there are those who are so inebriated they don’t know what they’re talkin’ about. ‘Sides, yer parents don’t want you havin’ any fun. Don’t want yah tuh get that adventure in yer blood. They want yah to stick around so you can take care of ‘em in their old age.” He pushed his way in front of me, not that it made a difference, his height and all. “Look, Mr. Dwarf man. I don’t care about your little game, but don’t go preying on the sheltered, yah hear?” I shot back at him. “The sheltered? Maybe yer just scared, not knowing what’s in that forest.” He prodded at me. “Ah, I get it. Yer just worried about these boys.” He turned to them once again. “Yah hear that, she’s just worried bout’cha. Thinks yah can’t handle the adventure.” “Now this adventure you talk about….? How long might it take?” One of the boys questioned. “Gah, there’s no adventure!” I spewed in frustration. “Of course there is!” Tuggs piped back. “No there isn’t!” “It’s people like you who discriminate against poor little dwarves like me!” “Oh yeah! Why haven’t you gone and gotten the treasure yourself?!” “I….I…” He leaned in close to me and whispered in my ear. “I’m afraid of the dark.” I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing. “So that’s it, ayy? Well, I’m not cruel enough to reveal a dwarves secret.” I downed the rest of my brew. “I’ll just let you…” I stopped. The spider eggs really were no joke. I felt them wiggling around in my stomach. This was not a feeling I was familiar with, nor I enjoyed. “I’m going to go now.” I could feel it coming back up the way it came. I needed to get outside. I barely made it out the front door before it erupted from my mouth. I managed to find a cracked flowerpot to expel into. I slumped against the wall, directly underneath the sign of the pub, my face in the flowerpot. “Rough night?” It was the voice of the girl from the bar. I couldn’t manage the energy to look up. “Blehhh” was all I could muster. “Stay there,” She paused for a second, supposedly taking a puff from her pipe, “not that you’re going anywhere.” I could hear her go back through the front door, and after a second or two, come out again. “Here. Drink this.” I forced myself to look up at her. She was holding a cup of water out towards me. I took it from her, and she went back to leaning against the wall, arms crossed, occasionally taking a hit of her purple smoke. I managed to speak. “Why?” “Why? Am I helping you? We all have those nights.” “Maybe if you took the drink I offered you, this wouldn’t have happened.” “Maybe if you took it easy on the poison, you wouldn’t be curled over a flowerpot.” I grunted in defeat. “Well when you travel, you see things you’d like to forget.” She laughed. “Like I don’t know.” Another hit. “You fight at all?” “Well, a girl has to if she wants to make it anywhere in this world.” She put her pipe away. “Come on.” I felt her arms around me, lifting me to my feet. “I’ve got a room here.” She hoisted me onto her back. “Just don’t vomit on me, okay?” In the blurr, I couldn’t even make out what language I was speaking. “ná.” “Elvish huh?” I felt her place me in a bed, pulling a blanket up over me right as I drifted off to sleep. ' ' I wake up to the stuffy smell coming from the cheese laying on my chest. I can barely open my eyes, but I am sure that is cheese. I moan as I roll over and the cheese falls to the floor. “What the fuck? That cost me a half pleb.” I whip my head over to see Ferrus sitting in a chair in the corner. “Oh, sorry.” I look down at the cheese, dangling my arm as it is barely out of grasp. “You are helpless.” She gets up from her chair and picks up the cheese for me. “Thanks.” I groan as I roll over and cuddle the slice. I feel horrendous, like my mouth has been sucked on by a whore demon and like my stomach has been cut out, sewn in, and cut out again. “Drink.” She holds a cup to my lips, forcing water down my throat. Unpleasant, but necessary. “Eat.” Next comes the cheese. I force myself to swallow and realize there is no way I can meet Ami in Oden so soon. “Are you…. Please….. Willing to do…. Me… a favor?” From what I can tell, she did not seem pleased. “I feel like I’ve been doing you favors all night.” “Well this favor includes taking my money.” She sits down on the bed next to me. “I’m listening.” “Well, a girl like you couldn’t travel far without a hefty sword.” “Yes?” “I would like to hire you. I have a friend in Oden who needs help. I can’t give you many details on why, but I can give you money.” “Why can’t you go yourself?” I roll over onto my other side, facing away from her. I stuff the remaining cheese into my mouth. “Have you seen me? I’m a fuckin’ mess, mate.” “Okay. Where to, and when?” “Oden, the 23rd. Small girl, dark hair. She’s probably dressed like a boy. You’ll get paid upon arrival.” She stands over my bed at this point. I can hear her packing her things. After about a minute, she stops. “Don’t die.” “Dying is not one of my specialties.” As the door shuts behind her, I roll over and go back to bed. Category:Calicana Fireborn Category:Character lore